“For three or four days he was the centre of a lot of attention,” he said.

Lord Hall told the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee: “[It has a] bearing on when you think about where you want to work in the future. I think he’s a remarkable presenter. He’s a loss to the BBC, a loss to our audiences.”

However, Lord Hall also said: “I have no complaint, disclosure is a good thing.”

He added that Evans, who was paid £1.66m in 2017-18, also wanted to leave so he could find a new challenge.

Last year was the first time the pay of stars earning more than £150,000 had been made public. The BBC was compelled to reveal the information under the terms of its new royal charter.

Lord Hall said the corporation would “find the next generation of talent” and promote from within rather than compete with the “mega” salaries on offer from commercial rivals.

“A lot of [current BBC] presenters I know could make possibly more money outside but actually are not doing it for that – they’re doing it because they’re committed to the BBC and I admire them hugely for that,” he said.

“But of course we will lose some people and of course we have lost a couple of people for a large number of reasons, but no doubt disclosure and the fact people know their pay has been a factor in some of those losses.”